NEHL Eltringham Farm, 21st March 2026

After a couple of cancellation-plagued years, this year’s Harrier League ended with the full programme of six races completed. Closing out the season, we were treated to a new venue at Eltringham Farm near Prudhoe, offering stunning views of rolling hills and the River Tyne, and which ended up proving memorable for a plethora of reasons.

First off, after months of bemoaning freezing temperatures and whipping winds, we were instead mithering about it potentially being too hot for running, with the sun beating down from a calm, cloudless sky, and temperatures in the mid-teens! Then there was the course itself, which was definitely varied, and for my money, one of the (if not the) most challenging I’ve encountered.

It had a bit of everything. For every lengthy stretch of dry, firm ground, there were brief, but incredibly churned up, shoe-sucking bogs (more on this later). The extended flat and downhill parts were more than cancelled out by two absolutely brutal beasts of hills, one of which took its time winding agonisingly up towards the finish line, forcing many to succumb to walking.

There were tunnels to run through, narrow woodland paths and a bridge that both had to be navigated single-file, and a stile to be climbed over/under, not to mention a short uneven patch that seemed to be comprised of jagged stones, rocks and bricks, the most ankle-breaking of which had been spray-painted pink to make them stand out.

The first Claremonter to discover all of the above was Charlotte Kerr, running in the under-13 girls race. Charlotte and her mum are the only two members to have represented the club at all six Harrier League events this season, and it was perhaps symbolic of her dedication that, having lost a shoe to one of the early bogs, Charlotte appeared over the crest of the final hill clutching the stray footwear, having soldiered on with one foot in sock only (see photos)!

Onto the women, where Sarah Kerr found herself back in the fast pack after a storming run at Alnwick. The extra handicap didn’t allow her to overhaul everyone this time, and it was instead Nicki O’Brien taking the plaudits, finishing well inside the top 10% with a 25^th place finish that will see her promoted to the medium pack next season, a reward she was somewhat… ‘ambivalent’ about.

On such a warm day, some of our women were calling out for a little hydration as they passed the tents at the end of their first lap, Roberto being duly dispatched with a bottle of water. One can only hope he was sufficiently hydrated himself, as it was something of a surprise that he’d turned up to run, having already run over twenty miles earlier that same day! His appearance meant we matched our season-high of seven men at a cross-country fixture.

Carrying on his new role as our men’s trailblazer, Till Weber was again first across the line, and by a massively increased margin. Mark Flynn finished with substantial blood down one leg, having fallen victim to some of the more vicious brambles. The first aid tent provided gauze and saline solution, although shied away from offering to help administer the aid themselves, lest they have to fill out any paperwork.

The Claremont bakers knocked it out of the park once more, and we now turn our attention fully to relay season, with about six months to wait before we’re back to wearily devouring cakes in muddy fields.

U13 Girls
Position	Runner	Time
31	Charlotte Kerr	19:19 (fast pack, actual time 17:34)

Women
Position	Runner	Time
25	Nicki O’Brien	35:43
56	Lena Lou	37:26
84	Sarah Kerr	38:14 (fast pack, actual time 32:58)
112	Anna Round	39:01
114	Tara Hipwood	39:07
156	Steph Towers	41:25
170	Sarah Williamson	42:11
223	Gill Milne	50:39
250	Cath Robson	51:57
271	Becky Webster	57:14

Men
Position	Runner	Time
108	Till Weber	47:03
145	Mark Anderson	48:28 (medium pack, actual time 45:53)
184	Chris Swaddling	50:30
202	Laurie Johnson	52:01
206	Roberto Marzo	52:23
264	David Lydall	56:53
297	Mark Flynn	62:46

_{Thanks to Tom for the many photos.}